1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to string keyboard instruments and particularly to improvements in clavichords. More specifically, this invention is directed to enhancing the performance of keyboard instruments of the type in which sound is generated by contact between a moveable member and a stretched string and particularly to reduction of the unwanted sound resulting from the physical contact between said member and other elements of the instrument. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved apparatus and methods of such character.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention is particularly well suited for use in clavichords.
A clavichord is a keyboard instrument wherein the pressing of a key causes a tangent to strike a string and set it into vibration. The pitch is not determined by the total string length, but by the point of contact between the tangent and string which separates the string into two independently vibrating portions, one of which is silenced by means of a mute. This type of instrument is capable of producing only a limited volume of sound and requires means for providing electronic amplification.
A stringed instrument of the clavichord type is shown in German Patent application Ser. No. 1,273,964. The instrument disclosed in this German patent application has the tangent lying opposite a fixed anvil, so that upon pressing the key, the string becomes clamped between the tangent and anvil. Thus the tangent strikes the anvil together with the string, and gives rise to a knocking sound. This knocking sound is electronically amplified by a sound pickup. Attempts to eliminate this knocking sound through the use of tangents constructed of various plastics, which allow a relatively soft engagement between the tangent and anvil, have failed to completely eliminate the undesirable noise.